I've been looking for a way to bring you back to life. And if I could find a way, then I would bring you back tonight.

I limp out to the back porch, Gadzooks following at my heels. Settling on the steps, I take a moment to brood and heal my injuries while Tommy prepares the rest of my punishment. Absently stroking Gadzooks' fur as she tries to lick the dried blood from my hand, I stare out into the woods. The images from my nightmares still haunt me, mixing with the residual fear that somehow Bernito will find us. That he'll find Tommy and take him from me. Horrific, if he takes him forcefully, more horrific still if Tommy goes willingly. I draw my knees up, hiding my face against them. My thoughts are full of masks of flesh and Ferris wheels. I try to clear my head enough to hear Tommy when he inevitably summons me back into the house. Gadzooks barks once at my side, and I shush her. She barks again, a curious sound, rather than alarmed. I move my arm enough to glance down at her. She stares intently down into the yard, and lifting my head, I follow her line of sight. A male figure comes from the woods, his hair and eyes dark, his skin tan. My heart seems to both leap and drop, simultaneously. I don't rise from the step, simply settling on leaning forward, taking in the sight, regardless of its actuality.

"Alex." I state, simply.
The apparition stops near the porch, staring up at me. His expression seems conflicted, torn between pleasure and anger and settling on the latter. His anger shames me, but I don't dare drop my eyes, wanting to absorb every moment I can. His face is the same, his clothes are the same, and his voice is the same as he chastises me. "You know...this is exactly the opposite of what I want for you."
I frown, pulling my knees tighter to my chest and wincing at the tenderness there. "That's not fair to say, Alex. I'm doing the best I can considering..." My eyes well with tears.
His expression falters, some of the anger seeming to dissipate. "Madelyn. This isn't your best. This is nowhere near your best. I've seen your best firsthand, and..."
I cut him off, my own voice loud and petulant. "No! Don't say that! That isn't fair!" Gadzooks yips and runs behind me to cower under the porch bench. "You're gone. You...you died and you left me alone. If Tommy hadn't been there, I would be dead too. And you know damned right that I wouldn't end up the same place as you." Alex just stares at me, his expression rife with skepticism. "Tommy loves me. Not in the same way you do..." I drop my gaze for a moment, pausing. "The way you did. But, in his own way. He takes care of me."

Alex steps forward a little, then stops with a frown, moving back to his original spot. My hand creeps up to my chest, pressing over my sternum as if to alleviate the agony there. He watches this, his voice pained as he responds. "Stockholm syndrome, Madelyn. I've told you so many times. He doesn't care, he just uses you as an outlet for his own sadistic...bullshit! If he loves you, it's only because of your blood." He appears regretful of his words when a hurt whimper escapes my lips. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I don't want to hurt you."
I wipe at my face. "S'fine. I guess out of anyone, you have the most right to hate Tommy. I.." I trail off, staring at Alex, knowing he's not really there and aching to touch him, regardless.
His stance seems to mirror my own yearning. "I wish I could hold you," he whispers. His eyes meet mine, sad and sorrowful. "I miss you so much." I rise to my feet, wiping splinters from the back of the ridiculous schoolgirl uniform Tommy put on me. Alex smirks at little when I stand. "You look really cute tonight."
I watch Gadzooks as she creeps from beneath the bench, hopping down the wooden stairs and approaching Alex cautiously. "I love you, you know." 
"I know," he responds, bending down to pet the dog. She wags slightly, sniffing his sneakers and looking to me for approval. Alex scratches behind her ears and straightens up. "It'd be better if you got a cat." 

The statement is so perfectly Alex, that I find myself giggling, covering my face as I laugh through my tears. I hear Gadzooks climb back up the stairs and when I drop my hands again, Alex is gone. My chest throbs dully, and I know that he wasn't really there. That he never will be, again. Instead of crushing sadness, I feel angry. Furious, even. The people that did this, that took him from me...they still live. The bastards that hurt me so badly, both physically and emotionally, got away unscathed. I pace in short circles, periodically glancing towards the house and wracking my brain for a way to find them. As if summoned by my thoughts, my phone goes off. I look at the sender, reading the message with a furrowed brow. OK. This could be progress. I hear Tommy's voice beckoning from inside the house. Risking his ire, I take a moment to type out a response. As I hit send, he swings the door open, his expression thunderous. Plucking my phone from my hand, he commands, "Now," punctuating his command with a hard swat to my behind. Pausing only long enough to allow Gadzooks to run in before me, earning another swat in the process, I enter the house and prepare for my punishment.

https://youtu.be/xJtBYAKBByk